The Otago Daily Times. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE OTAGO GUARDIAN. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 187S.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4976, 29 January 1878, Page 2

The Otago Daily Times. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE OTAGO GUARDIAN. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 187S.

The carping manner in which the appointment of the honourable member for Rangitikei, Mr Ballance, to a seat in the Government is treated by partizans of the late Ministry is quite in keeping with the spirit manifested towards every action of the present Ministry. People will not, and cannot, believe that old things have passed away and that all things are become new, and the intrusion of fre3h young blood into" the place of power is something against which old instincts revolt. No one can say anything against the ability or general fitness of Mr Bal-

LANCE^or a place ia the Ministry, ami the/ worst that can be thrown against him is that he is new to office. But this is very bad in the eyes of some, and the unpardonable crime of being a youug man, and of never before having been within the charmed circle of official life, is something that cannot be viewed with any thing short of a feeling of alarm and horror. But we think the Colony is now pretty well agreed that we have been long enough ruled by official " old fogeys," and that the time has fully come when we must cease to ring the changes with a certain set of names, without one or more of which in the Cabinet the Colony must go to destruction. Mr Ballance belongs to the class of young and rising men who heretofore had no chance of prominence unless they obsequiously hung on to the skirts of some one or another of the acknowledged leaders, and in this connection might hope to steal into office. The honourable member for Rangitikei has come rapidly to the front, and it is creditable to tlie leaders of the present Government that- they have promptly recognised his ability, and have not waited until he had been spoiled by intrigue and by association with the sycophants of office before placing before him a field in which his talents can have abundant exercise. One of the most vigorous writers on the Press of New Zealand, Mr Ballance has been intimately associated with that class of liberal politics of which Sir George Grey is the recognised exponent; and though his strong Centralist views impelled him to side with the party of the late Ministry as the best means for the attainment of one object, he was with them, but not of them, and throughout the whole struggle he maintained the most kindly relations with the leading men of the present Ministerial party, who, it is known, had always his cordial sympathies on everything apart from the constitutional question pending. That once settler 1, he was not slow in following the bent of his feelings, ar... when the assurance was beyond doi bt that the question of the unity of the Colony would not be again raised, Mr Ballance was one of the nost loyal supporters of the present Government. It has been sought to charge him with desertion of the Atkinson party, as if he ever had any connection with them by sympathy or interest save on the one burning question. It was an unnatural alliance at the best, and it was well for Mr Ballance that it was so speedily ended. The whole tone of his literary work and his career as a powerful writer in the Press were opposed to that alliance; and though office with its responsibilities will doubtless, as it always does, temper the ingeniwm 2>erferfidum of his nature, he will have an opportunity now of giving effect to those liberal and forcible views which he formerly taught with his pen. But we can readily understand how his elevation to office more than that of any other must give mortal offence to the lovers of the old state of things. It is a practical protest of the most pronounced kind against the system of dull routine and stupid official conservatism with which administration hitherto has been oppressed ; and if the leaders of the present Ministry do as rumour has it they intend, and similarly raise to office another of the ablest rising politicians in New Zealand, they will, with Messrs Sheehan and Ballance, have given the -in———n lr"~-*t£"<xtxi ris-—, ■--{ i.„L, a—cl-trignivins. life in the administration of Government in this Colony. We have recently had experience of a Government ot incapables patronised and guided from without. We are weary of this government by old and blase politicians, too familiar with statecraft and intrigue, who seemed far be" the' only possible I Ministers before; and the people will hail with a sigh of relief the accession to power of men inspired with the fresh . young life that is pulsating* throughout iN/ew Zealand. If Sir George Grey and Mr Macandrew:. had done-nothing eke ,save the introduction of this new prin- ; ciple into the practice of Government they will have deserved well of their country, and people will be content to : smile at the ill-concealed chagrin of ' those who regarded ■ themselves as having a vested _ interest in office, and who have looked on the legitimate aspirations of others as so much gratuitous impertinence.

At the meeting of th'e~City Council to be held this afternoon, Bis Worship the Mayor will bring forward the following proposition.:'—" That the Public Work's Committee be authorised to make better provision for the comfort and convenience of members of the Council, by enlarging the room in which the Council meetings are held ; and that for the future the ordinary meetings of the Council be held at 7, instead of 2 o'clock p.m." With the first part of the proposal we cordially agree. Ever since the increase of business in the water supply and gas departments rendered it necessary that the old Council Chamber should be converted into offices, the meetings of the Council have been held in the apartment known as the Mayor's room, with the exception of one or two occasions when permission was obtained to make use of the old Provincial Council Hall, now being altered for the rise of the Supreme Court. In the Mayor's room there is barely accommodation for the members of the Council, the Town Clerk, the representatives of the Press, and half-a-dozen ratepayers, and during a prolonged meeting in hot weather the atmosphere becomes anything but pleasant. Any arrangement that the Works Committee can make to increase the accommodation will be most acceptable; but we think the Mayor is making a great mistake in endeavouring to alter the hour of meeting, although we are not in possession of the arguments he intends to bring forward in support of his proposition. Most of tne ratepayers will, have a lively recollection of the time when the Council meetings were held in the evening, of the burlesquing of "forms of the House," and valuable time wasted in endless discussion on things in general. The ostensible reason for the proposed reversion to the old system will probably be, that if the meetings of the Council are held at night instead of in the afternoon, the ratepayers will have a better opportunity of attending them ; but we assume the real reason to.be that some of the Councillors begrudge devoting a few of the ordinary hours of business to the public affairs of the city. Past experience, however, points to the desirability of the meetings being held in the afternoon as at present. In former times when Councillors assembled at half-past seven or eight o'clock, strict attention to the question under immediate discussion was the exception and not the rule, and-matters, of the utmost importance to the city remained on the order paper undisposed of week after week, while the ratepayers who attended the meetings were treated to windy harangues aud debates of a personal nature. The phrenological bump popularly supposed to t denote love of admiration is so well

developed in the case of a few.: of. our civic rulers, that it would be scarcely reasonable to expect them to" refrain! from airing the eloquence with which nature has endowed them, when tempted by the presence of a large number of ratepayers, and a knowledge of the fact that there is plenty of time at their disposal. : The ratepayers in their turn came to regard the Council meetings as a mild kind of public entertainment, and the business of the city suffered. Since the meetings have been held in the afternoon, however, the proceedings have been more orderly and businesslike, there ha3 been far less waste of time • over discussions of a personal nature, and irrelevant to the questions at issue, and there has Ven a marked improvement in the tone of the Council. Under these circumstance.*', unless some very cogent reasons can be advanced to the contrary, we hope the proposition to again alter the hour of meeting will be negatived.

It will he seen from our -special telegrams that Judge Ward delivered judgment at Oamuru yesterday in the bankruptcy case Helliker ex parte James Scoular.

The cricket match between the AustraUan Eleven and Wellington Twenty-two was continued yesterday. In their first innings the Wellington men scored 91, and on Saturday five of the Australians had been disposed of for 93. They continued their innings yesterday, and brought their total up to 166. Th6 Wellington .team in their second innings had made 78, with one wicket to fa'!, when time was called.

The meeting of householders held under the new Education Act, for the election of the School Committee for the Dunedin district, was very largely attended, between 600 aud 700 persons being present. The meeting was somewhat stormy, owing to a difference of opinion existing as to whether matters connected M.'th the Education Act could be d'seu.-.cd. The following gentlemen were elected members of the Cor<.mittee. —Messrs Fish, Nathan, Bell, Robin, K." Ramsay, J. Sherwin, sen., and Professor Macgregor. Twenty persons were nominated We defer our remarks on tha various matters that evoked discussion.

The Hon. Mr Larnach, the Engineer in Chief, and Mr Blair, District E. -Jncer, are expected to return to. Dunedin to-morrow. We understand that, among other important matters which have received their attention, they have insp^ted the approximate route of the proposed line of railway from Gore to the Elbow. Should this h'ne be constructed, which we have every reason to hops will be th6 case, it will be of vait importance to the mercantile community of this city, brincm**. as it will do, the Lakes district 40 miles nearer to Dunedin than via Invercargill, and opening up a large and magnificent tract of country.

It is reported that Mr J. P. Armstrong is li'iely to become a candidate for the representation of Mount Ida in the General Assembly, if Mr De Lautour carries out his expressed intention of resigning his seat.

The Waste Lands Board will on Wednesday next take into consideration the question of the Port Chalmers Endowment of 3000 acres. In reply to a communication from the Chief Commissioner, the Chief Surveyor has forward; d a tracing of a block of 3000 acres of land suitable for the endowment in question. The land is a portion of Run 52b, situated in Table Hill district.

The contract for the Papatu railway bridge, on the Napier-Manawatu line, was signed by the contractors, Me-irs Proudfoot and M'Kay, on Saturday last. The bridge is on the American trestle principle, and is 90 feet in height where it spans the deepest part of the gully or rav.'nc The mount of the contrast is £15,195 Is Bd. The next tender was £15,197, and the third, £15,200, the figures showing remarkably close tender, ing. We understand the contractors purpose sending a representative immr rliately to commence the works.

A question qf_BOJn«-I"***"—*—+•»-——j-ot -me r*.-Mct-_ct.""of Cromwell as well as the Corporation there will be dealt with by the ■Waste Lands Commissioners to-morrow. Since 1866 the Cromwell Council have been in possession of a piece of-land designated on the plan as block XXVII, section 1, having obtained the reserve in exchange for section 40, block I. The exchange was sanctioned by the Provincial Government, but no legal title was given to the Council. A number of persons erected building-- on the reserve and paid rent to the Corporation for come years till it transpired that the latter had no legal right to demand ren\ Subsequently the land was put up to auction, but at the request of the Council'.was twice withdrawn from sale. The residents on the reserve again recently asked the Board to put-the land up for sale, and the Council in their turn have memorialised the Board to grant them legal title to what they consider to be justly theirs. The Whole matter wai referred to, the Diotrict-Lard Officer to report upon, and he after making full inquiry states that he cannot see that the residents have a shadow of right to go into competition with the Corporation who had b'en owners of the reserve since 1866. The Lands Board will consider the whole subject to-morrow, and probably will finally decide what has for years been a very vexed question between a number of rc-.idents of Cromwell and the Municipality.

Mr Jas. De Clifford was the highest aggregate prize winner at the railway employes' picnic at Waihola, and was consequently the winner of a suit of clothes valued at £6 6-., presented by Messrs Hallenstein and Co., Dunedin.

Two children, on Saturday last, had a fancy for some ripe berricr- they found growing on a bush in'North Dunedin, and they indulged their appetites with a goodly feed. They were discovered shortly after by their parents lying down near; the spot where the berries were obtained apparently suffering the pangs of poispnin-... They trembled in every muscle, and were fearfully sick. On recovering some time after, their parents discovered that they bad been eating tutu berries. It was fortunate the children were so sick, or probably the result would have been fatal. As it was the quantity eaten acted as an emetic. Parents should be careful to caution their children against eating wild berries, which are plentiful just now and many of which are poisonous.

Considerable interest has been taken over the question of the exact weight of the booy of beef exhibited in Mr Vesey's shop during the latter part of last week. It will be remembered that the animal had a history, inasmuch as it was the heifer which had taken first prize both in Christchurch and Dunedin as the best fat beast in the yard, and probably this gave rise to the interest felt in its weight, and caused so many who affect the judging of carcases to try their skill on this occasion. We are informed that the correct weight was 12451b.

The Secretary of the Early Closing Association writes to us acknowledging with thanks the remarks made by his Worship the Mayor and by Archdeacon Edwards at the builders' meeting on Saturday. Although the movement was started by the drapers' assistants, it will doubtless eventuate in the grocers and others closing a few hours earlier, and as this is an object much to be desired, it is hoped the general public will lend a helping hand by making their purchases before 6 o'clock on Saturdays.

The Tokomairiro Grammar School was reopened yesterday with two hundred and seventy pupils, seventy, one of whom were admitted for the first time. The Rector is Mr William Malcolm, who has by his unremitting efforts to advance the school has raised it to a very high standard of excellence.

Several officers in connection with the Otago Railways bave recently received promotion. Mr Simmons has been appointed station master at Balclutha; Mr Douglas, formerly station master of Pelichet Bay, has been appointed collector; Mr J. De Clifford hai been promoted to .the post of plant collector, in the room of Mr Atkinson, who has been placed in charge of the Pelichet Bay Station. The Stirling Station has been given over to the care of Mr Kelt; Mr May has taken Mr Do Clifford's post of guard ; and Mr Styles, who for years has occupied the position of booking clerk in Dunedin, has been appoint ;d station master at Mos. giel.

The Thames Advertiser of a late date says —An old Thames resident, who was speculating on the field in the early days,'has fallen into the hands of the Philistine-*, according to late telegrams. We learn that Colonel Coope, the special correspondent of the Globe, who was captured by the Russians at Telis, and subsequently sent into captivity by them, is no other than William Jesser Coope, who for some time resided here and had the legal management for a very brief period of several companies formed under his guidance. Captain Coope came out to this Colony v.i a retired officer, with the usual claim to land under the Waste Lands Regulations. He had formerly been attached to the 7th Fusiliers, and served with the 57th Regiment in many engagements in the Crimea and elsewhere. He reaided on his land for some time, and after speculating unsuccessfully ai; the Thames, he disposed of his farm, and returned to England.

The following paragraph from the San Bernardino Time-;, published in California', gives come information re-specting the movement*) of an old Duntdin resident :—" Mr Reginald Nutfcall left San Bernardino yesterday morning, with the intention of seeking a' home elsewhere. Mr Nuttall during his residence here has proved himself a man of in domitable energy and great executive ability, and we trust he will find a field where his abilities will be appreciated." Mr Nuotall has settle 1 down at Victoria, British Columbin. • . . -.. -

During the hearing of a case at the recent sitting of the District Court in Inverc. rgiJl, a cane was cited by one of the counsel engaged which was reported in the New Zealand Jurist. Another gentleman learned in the law having suggested some doubt as to the correctness of the report, his Honor Judge Ward took occasion to spe„k in terms of the highest praise of the publication in question, and cincluded by saying: "The New Zealand Jurist is edited by a barristsrat law, who is a profound lawyer, and a very able man. I have always found that any cases of which I have had" any knowledge were correctly and ably reported."

Her temper had been tried to its extreme limit. She simply put a fire-stick to the house and burnt it down. But then she had a" right to do it, as she " wore the trou. ers," and the habitation wa-. not h-surer!. A smoky chimney was the cause. This (says the New Zealand Herald) occurred a week ago at a settlement not many miles from Auchh-d.

It is a siga of the times (observes an A'-ahabad "journal) that the regiments returning to England during this trooping season are to be at once armed with the Mar-ni-nenry, though, under ordinary circumstances, they would have returned home without rifles, and would have received a new equipment oh arrival. In the 109th the new arm had been issued to the men, who will be put through the usual drill and pre liminary firing before leaving Dinapore. The w.;sdom of this step is obvious in the present state of Europe, for, should anything happen to make the presence of British troops necessary in the Mediterranean, the transports could land the regiments returning home fu?ly equipped for the service, whereas if they were sent home unarmed, as has -hithertiv-^—- *-»- =^ U i„ m _ •*,_.__..—o_ia-C;_?_y-have been- an incumbrance instead of a powerful reinforcement.

: The Grey River Argus thinks that instruction in the use and management of the sewing machine should be given in the State schools. -,-,-■■■

During the last, three or four dsys (says the Southland Time-*) the diver, Mr Sherwill, has made three or four examinations of the Mid-channeland Black Buoy Bocks, the only two obstructions in Bluff "Harbour—on one of which.eccasions. he- was -40 minutes under water; He7 is now, under the direction of Captain Thomson, sinkinj a shaft in the debris of the Mid-channel Rock, so that it may be completely shattered by Mr Gor man's next blast. There is now nearly a level surface on this rock; =and three f oiT additional depth of water has been gained. The Black Buoy Bock Is found to extend over a considerable: space, apparent-y of some acres, and is almost flat, except at two places, where pinnacles of rock rise. By blasting these the depth of water on the rock would be increased over the whole area from 13 to 15 feet, but Captain Thomson is doubtful whether it would be worth while to expend much money in explosion here, as the intercolonial steamers draw about 16 feet at low water spring tides. If it were possible to deepen a little more here, steamers could take a direct course up to the wharf, instead of traversing two sides of a triangle.

There was a tolerably good house at the Queen's Theatre la-ifc night, when the amusing drama "Milky White" was produced. The American Novelty Troupe also appeared. A comedy entitled "Cur Nelly" will be produced to-night, and to-morrow "Uncle Tom's Cabin" will be play d.

The Princess Theatre will be re-opened tomorrow night, when Miss Ada; Ward will make her first appearance in Dunedin, assisted by Miss Lydia Howarde, Miss Navaro, and a number of other well-known performers. The entertainment will consist of operatic and concert selections.

The annual meeting of tbe Acclimatisation Societv will be held at the Government Buildings at 4 o'clock this afternoon.

A meeting of builders will be held at the City Hotel at 8 o clock this evening.